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PCC responds to latest police inspection report

Norfolk's Police and Crime Commissioner Lorne Green has welcomed the publication of an inspection report which rated Norfolk Constabulary as "outstanding" in efficiency.

The report is one of 14 published today as the first tranche of the new integrated PEEL* inspections by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS).

The latest inspections have been combined into a single assessment of the overall effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy of the force, focusing on the following areas:
  • how effectively does the force reduce crime and keep people safe
  • how efficiently does the force operate and how sustainable are its services to the public
  • how legitimately does the force treat the public and its workforce
Commenting on the publication of the report, PCC Lorne Green, said: “I am pleased by the fact the Constabulary has been recognised as one of the most efficient forces in the country in today’s HMICFRS report.

“The community of Norfolk should take comfort that their police force has been recognised as outstanding in areas of efficiency and has a strong victim focus.

“Whilst this is very positive news I am mindful there are identified areas for improvement. However, I am heartened by the progress reports coming from the Chief Constable to address these areas, namely how the force investigates crime, and I will continue to scrutinise progress closely.”

The force’s “outstanding” rating for efficiency was in part down to the force's comprehensive assessment of future demand and how this will impact on its services using a variety of sources to budget appropriately.  The inspectors identified the Constabulary has a range of innovative projects in place to improve services and as part of this has a good understanding of public expectations.

Chief Constable Simon Bailey welcomed the report saying: "Achieving outstanding in two areas of this inspection is a credit to how hard all my officers and staff in the constabulary have worked to provide the best possible service to the public.

“Successfully adapting our policing model in order to deal with the changing face of complex crime has also enabled us to give more focus to local issues such as rural crime and anti-social behaviour.  However, similar to all other forces, we are experiencing the pressure of delivering an appropriate response against reducing resources.  Unfortunately as a consequence something has to give.

“In Norfolk’s case we have had to rapidly increase recruitment, introducing a high number of staff into policing and this has exposed a key area around how we undertake frontline investigations where we, along with many others, need to make changes.

“Fortunately, we had already recognised this issue, with a review of our services finding some of our investigative knowledge and skills moving from frequently committed crime investigations to specialist teams. We will now be looking to give our relatively inexperienced and new workforce the further training and supervisory support they need to continue our high level of service to victims.

"However, I remain pleased that our efforts to maintain our quality of service has been recognised in this latest report by HMICFRS and we will continue to work to prevent and detect crime with a victim centred approach ensuring the best outcome is achieved for all.”

*The HMICFRS integrated PEEL inspection is a national benchmarking exercise to judge how police forces are at keeping people safe and reducing crime.

Visit here to read the full report.